The influence of structural defects in spark plasma sintered BaSn1-xSbxO3 (BSSO, x=0.00 and 0.08)
ceramic samples on their electrical properties was investigated in the temperature range of 300–4K.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the presence of point defects, primarily oxygen
vacancies (VO) and mixed oxidation states of tin (Sn2+/Sn4+) in both samples. As a result, the
undoped BSSO sample exibited a non-standard semiconductor behavior, retaining its temperaturedependent
resistivity. The electrical resistivity of the doped samples was two orders of magnitude
lower than that of the undoped sample. The presence of structural defects such asVO, mixed oxidation
states of the constituent elements, and significant amounts ofO− species make the electrical resistivity
of the doped sample constant in the temperature range of 300–70 K, indicating heavily-doped
semiconductor behavior